1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle maintenance and repair.
2. Background Art
Currently, vehicles such as locomotives are inspected at the repair shop when the locomotive arrives for periodic scheduled maintenance. The in-shop inspection process is conducted as soon as possible upon arrival of the locomotive at the shop, because reduced shop time results in increased availability and usability of a locomotive. The in-shop inspection process typically takes several days to complete. The results of the inspection determine which, if any, systems must be corrected during the periodic scheduled maintenance and which fault correction and maintenance actions must be taken.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) currently requires an inspection every 92 days, and the locomotive is, of course, out of service during such periodic inspection and maintenance period.
Due to the high value of reducing overall shop time, any system or process to reduce such shop time would be very desirable.